Archive:Advocates

Want to help spread the word about the openSUSE Project and encourage more people to become part of the openSUSE Community? Are you ready to roll up your sleeves and tell the world about the openSUSE Project? Do you want to teach new users about Linux, speak about openSUSE at local events, help distribute openSUSE media, and mentor new contributors to the openSUSE Project? Then you're ready to become an openSUSE Advocate!

Have questions? Ask on the openSUSE-marketing mailing list, or in #opensuse-marketing on Freenode.

Events

Events are a big part of the Advocate program. We are looking for Advocates to represent the openSUSE Project in every part of the world, at events big and small, and to organize events on behalf of the project.

Wondering what events might be coming up? See LWN's Calendar for a reasonably well-kept calendar of events related to Linux and open source.

Sharing and Talking

If you {do/did/are going to do} something as an Advocate, please
post a blog entry about that and drop the News Team a note - and publish as well on the opensuse-marketing mailing list.

It is not necessary to write the article in English, if you are not good
at writing sentences in English. In that case, just post a blog entry in
your native language and drop a note with a short summary in English,
for example: "I attended $LOCAL_EVENT_NAME as an openSUSE Advocate.
Here's my report on that event in $YOUR_LANGUAGE..."

Even if you are not good at writing actually, you can still report your
activities by taking pictures at local events and uploading them to
online photo sharing service like Flickr.

There's a proverb "Silence is golden" - but at least in marketing
area, that's not true. If you are an Advocate, don't hesitate to be
big-mouthed. ;-)

A: That's up to you! We have suggestions, but if you can think of new ways to spread the word about openSUSE and help new users and contributors join the project, we're all ears. Here's some of the ways we see Advocates working to reach out to new users and contributors:

Speak at local events like Linuxfests, Linux User Group meetings, and other gatherings where people may be interested in learning about Linux, open source, and the openSUSE Project.

Help out in the openSUSE booth at events.

Plan events, installfests, and openSUSE Launch parties in your area.

Be a friendly "face" on openSUSE mailing lists, forums, and IRC channels, answer questions about use of openSUSE and contribution to the openSUSE Project.

Help manage social media groups related to openSUSE.

Show your coworkers, friends, and family members how to switch to openSUSE from Windows or Mac OS X.

Come up with new and creative ways to promote openSUSE locally and globally.

Q: Can a country/region/state/city have more than one openSUSE Advocate?

A: Yes, the more the merrier.

Q: What makes an Advocate official? Do I need approval to get started?

A: You don't need approval to start promoting openSUSE. If you're working to promote openSUSE in your area or online, you're an Advocate in good standing as long as you uphold the Guiding Principles of the project and conduct yourself in a professional and courteous manner.

We will look to name specific contacts in each region who can serve as the point of contact for openSUSE media and to organize events, launch parties, etc.

Q: Will the openSUSE Project be starting local groups? If so, should they be separate from existing Linux User Groups?

A: Advocates are free to start local openSUSE groups, and we encourage this -- so long as they cooperate with existing Linux User Groups. If there's an existing LUG in your area, we suggest setting up an openSUSE special interest group (SIG) within the LUG rather than working outside the LUG. Linux user groups are stronger when users of all distros work together, and we want to encourage cooperation with existing LUGs as much as possible! It's probably a good idea to work with the nearest openSUSE Local Coordinator to make sure you're getting all the help available.